It is well known to use different types of pouches to serve as a container or packaging for many different types of consumer products, as well as food and beverage products. One type of pouch that is used for these types of products is referred to as a flat bottom pouch, wherein the bottom portion of the pouch includes a gusset that allows for the bottom to expand outwardly to provide additional storage space within the pouch. Further, due to its flat bottom, the pouch is capable of standing upright on a support surface.
A flat bottom pouch may typically include front and back panels joined along the sides by opposing gusseted sidewalls and along the bottom by a gusseted bottom panel. This type of pouch is typically manufactured from multiple continuous sheets of webbing, wherein the front and back panels may be fabricated from a single or respective webbings; each side gusset is a separate sheet of webbing; and the bottom gusset may be yet another sheet.
One significant problem with manufacturing the flat bottom pouches using multiple rolls of webbing is that each roll requires its own unwinding mechanics (i.e. rollers, drivers, etc.), thus greatly increasing the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process, as well as requiring a significant amount of floor space within the manufacturing facility. Moreover, multiple mechanisms also require careful monitoring and control of the various mechanical components such that unwinding of the various sheets of webbing is within system tolerances such that the produced pouches meet the desired manufacturing standards.
As such, there is a need for a method for producing a flat bottom pouch formed from a single continuous sheet of webbing. The present invention addresses this and other needs.